15-16 September

Jackson Hole – West Yellowstone

In the latter part of the 19 century the American Bison (Buffalo) were hunted to the brink of extinction. Mounted hunters on horseback were more than a match for the buffalo in this uneven struggle. Today, it's Buffalo v cars in a much more evenly matched contest. It must be called at about evens. We saw buffalo close up beside the road through Yellowstone today and we'd rather not tangle with them, even in our rented Nissan.

The buffalo fared better than the first wildlife we encountered. Somewhere in the back blocks of Idaho a poor unfortunate coyote bolted out in front of us. A much more uneven contest.

Another uneven contest occurred as a daredevil driver turned across the lanes in front of us. An incensed Paul reached carefully for the stalk in order to flash this recalcitrant.... and washed our windscreen!!!! Hilarity ensued in our Nissan, specially as this was a repeat of an incident in Brisbane. But back to more serious matters...

Yellowstone was exactly as advertised. Spectacular! Good weather, clear skies and temperatures in the mid 20s only enhanced the experience. Old Faithful blasted off on cue for our arrival, several other geysers obligingly spouted as we walked past and the pools were spectacularly beautiful with their rainbow of colours created by the mineral salts.

The crowds in the National Park were far greater than we have experienced on previous visits to the US. Hundreds of RVs filled the parking lots and the traffic crawled along the roads between attractions. Overwhelmingly, our fellow travellers are American 'Grey Nomads'.

14 September

Salt Lake City Utah

Who said deserts were boring? Over 1000km of Nevada and Utah deserts have kept us interested through the long haul from Reno to Salt Lake City. Interstates in this part of the US are in the sort of condition that we remember from previous trips. With speed limits of 75 mph (120kph) and super smooth roads, it's a bit like flying at ground level!

It is hard to believe that a country with over 300 million people has this much open space. Europe is much the same physical size and there never seems to be more than a few kms between towns. Out here, it's more like Australia, where 200kms between towns is the norm in isolated areas. Storms and rain showers out on the desert added to the interesting light on the desert landscape.

Just over the Nevada – Utah border, the Bonneville Salt Flats are blindingly bright, even in the half sun of this partly cloudy day. It's here that the world land speed records are regularly broken. The current mark is somewhere above 600 mph. How do they keep on the ground? The Interstate here runs for 20 or 30 miles in a straight line through desert brush and salt-encrusted flats. Semi-trailers pour west in a steady stream while the traffic in our direction is extremely light.

As is our custom on road trips like this, we have been using our portable kitchen to cut back on costs to cook in motels. Sounds cheap skate we know, but on long trips, eating meals out can easily double the cost of a trip. Wal-Mart supermarket allows us to equip a full mobile kitchen with cooking plate, saucepan, toaster, frypan and eating gear for well under $100. To give some idea of how cheap cooking equipment can be: we paid $7.00 for the toaster!

This afternoon, when we did an early recon of Salt Lake City, we got lost walking downtown to pick up our dinner supplies. Like most US cities, (LA and NYC excluded!) it is very open with broad streets, gardens and well-managed traffic, so, once we'd realised we were heading in the wrong direction after a couple of blocks, it was easy to find our way back – a big contrast to European cities and towns whose streets meander all over the place.

Tomorrow we'll have a wander around the Temple Square of the Mormon Church and head off for another long drive to Jackson, Wyoming, on the edge of Yellowstone National Park. Wonder if we'll see Yogi and Boo Boo!